Fiebelkorn wins prestigious ‘Bowl of Hygeia’ award for community service

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Karl D. Fiebelkorn, MBA, associate professor of pharmacy practice in the University at Buffalo School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (SOPPS), is the recipient of the 2014 Bowl of Hygeia Award for outstanding community service.

The award is sponsored by the American Pharmacists Association Foundation and the National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations, with support from Boehringer Ingelheim.

Established in 1958, the Bowl of Hygeia is the most widely recognized international symbol for the pharmacy profession and is considered one of the profession’s most prestigious awards.

The award recognizes pharmacists who possess outstanding records of civic leadership in their communities and encourages pharmacists to take active roles in the affairs of their respective communities. The award is presented annually by participating state pharmacist associations, including those in the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

Fiebelkorn said the award was unexpected.

“I was very honored and humbled to receive such a prestigious award from the premier pharmacy society in the country,” he said.

Fiebelkorn, also associate dean for student affairs and professional relations in the UB pharmacy school, has a long history of volunteerism and community service.

In 1996, he began the UB SOPPS Poison Prevention Program, which educates thousands of young children about the hazards of poisoning in Western New York. A few years later, he received a grant to produce “The Poison Palace,” an educational video about the hazards of children ingesting poisons. In addition, a video titled “Keeping Kids Safe: A Guide for Babysitters” was oriented to teenagers caring for young children to educate them on how to prevent poison ingestion by their young charges.

Fiebelkorn has served on the Asthma Coalition of Western New York board of directors, the Amherst Youth Task Force on Healthy Youth board of directors and the Responsible Tobacco Retailing Committee.

While serving on the WNY Drug Disposal Committee, he worked with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to create a regional DEA Drug Take-Back Program that serves 32 sites in Western New York and gives local citizens the opportunity to relinquish unused drugs responsibly.   

Fiebelkorn has been pharmacy coordinator for a number of community-wide wellness fairs, including separate health fairs sponsored by state assemblymen James Hayes, Ray Walter and Mark Schroeder, and state Sen. Mike Ranzenhofer.

He is a a board member and vice president of the Pharmacists Association of Western New York, past board member of the Western New York Society of Health Systems Pharmacy, and a delegate to the American Pharmacist Association and the Pharmacists’ Society of the State of New York.

Fiebelkorn also serves on the executive committee of the Rho Chi Society, the national pharmacy honor society, as well as the steering committee of the National Community Pharmacists Association.

An advocate of the profession, Fiebelkorn encourages UB pharmacy students to participate in ventures ranging from attending Pharmacy Day in Albany — educating legislators on the profession of pharmacy and lobbying for patient issues — to educating young adults and their parents on drug abuse.   

As an advisor to several student organizations, Fiebelkorn oversees many charitable events organized by students groups, including the National Community Pharmacist Association, the School of Pharmacy Student Association, the Rho Chi National Honor Society and the Student Pharmacists Association of Western New York.

He also assists students in coordinating the annual UB SOPPS Charity Dance that raises thousands of dollars for local charities each year.

Fiebelkorn has received numerous awards, including Distinguished Pharmacy Educator from the National Community Pharmacists Association and the Pharmacist Society of the State of New York (PSSNY).

He also received the Jack Nicolais Award from PSSNY for his role in student advocacy.  

Fiebelkorn has been selected for the Western New York Society of Health Systems Pharmacists Robert M. Coooper Award for professionalism, as well as the Pharmacists Association of Western New York Community Service Award for his role in expanding immunizations by pharmacists in the community in New York State.  

A leader in the push to have pharmacists administer immunizations to ensure protection from disease for all communities, Fiebelkorn was among the first pharmacist immunizer trainers in New York State.

Fiebelkorn is a double alumnus of UB, having received a baccalaureate from the Department of Pharmacy Practice in 1978 and an MBA from the School of Management in 1988.